Before the flooding of New Orleans drastically escalated on Tuesday,
the White House tried to disarm questions that could be politically
explosive. "To those of you who are concerned about whether or not
we're prepared to help, don't be, we are," President Bush said.
"We're in place, we've got equipment in place, supplies in place, and
once the  once we're able to assess the damage, we'll be able to
move in and help those good folks in the affected areas."

Echoing the official assurances, CBS News reported: "Even though more
than a third of Mississippi's and Louisiana's National Guard troops
are either in Iraq or supporting the war effort, the National Guard
says there are more than enough at home to do the job."

But after New Orleans levees collapsed and the scope of the catastrophe became
more clear, such reassuring claims lost credibility. The Washington Postreported
on Wednesday: "With thousands of their citizen-soldiers away fighting
in Iraq, states hit hard by Hurricane Katrina scrambled to muster forces for
rescue and security missions yesterday  calling up Army bands and water-purification
teams, among other units, and requesting help from distant states and the active-duty
military."

The back-page Post story added: "National Guard officials in the
states acknowledged that the scale of the destruction is stretching the limits
of available manpower while placing another extraordinary demand on their troops
 most of whom have already served tours in Iraq or Afghanistan or in homeland
defense missions since 2001."

Speaking for the Mississippi National Guard, Lt. Andy Thaggard said: "Missing
the personnel is the big thing in this particular event. We need our people."
According to the Washington Post, the Mississippi National Guard "has
a brigade of more than 4,000 troops in central Iraq" while "Louisiana
also has about 3,000 Guard troops in Baghdad."

National Guard troops don't belong in Iraq. They should be rescuing
and protecting in Louisiana and Mississippi, not patrolling and
killing in a country that was invaded on the basis of presidential
deception. They should be fighting the effects of flood waters at
home  helping people in the communities they know best  not
battling Iraqi people who want them to go away.